Camp Far West: A Memoir of Early California - Paperback

by Randolph H. Pirtle (Author)

A SOLDIER'S MEMOIR OF GOLD RUSH CALIFORNIA It is 1849. Alta California has been seized from Mexico. Immigrants are pouring into the new territory from around the world, drawn by the promise of open land and easy gold. Follow the officers and men of the US 2nd Infantry Regiment as they return from the Mexican War and travel by sea around the Horn to untamed San Francisco. Read the memoir of Lieutenant Nelson H. Davis as he documents the establishment of the first inland post--Camp Far West near Sacramento--as well as his descriptions of historic military conflicts with the native peoples of northern California and the mapping of this wilderness for its place in a growing America. Experience the bloody Clear Lake Massacre and the first Pit River Expedition. Visit the dark alleys and taverns of gold rush San Francisco. Follow Lieutenant George Horatio Derby as he maps the upper Sacramento Valley. Here is a chance to experience the way it really was to pioneer the California frontier.

Author Biography

Randolph Pirtle is a health care executive in central Florida. His wife Alice of 31 years is an elementary school teacher. His son Bryan is an electrical engineer, and his daughter Laura is a registered nurse officer in the US Navy. Pirtle has worked in numerous industries including finance, defense contracting, cable television, local government, and health service administration. His varied interests have yielded publications in CQ Magazine, QST, The Firing Line, and a A Break in the Clouds. Among his hobbies are photography, amateur radio, musical composition, writing, hiking, fishing, boating, history and the shooting sports. He is an active York Rite Mason, a Civil War reenactor and a member of the Coast Guard Auxiliary.